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Sailor Moon and Storytelling

Saturday, July 5, 2014

I was messing around on Facebook today and saw something on my feed that got me very excited.

Sailor Moon - an anime series I'd loved since childhood - had been remade over the past year, and the first episode officially premiered today. I watched it and loved it, and it brought back so many memories.

It got me thinking about how I got into Sailor Moon in the first place.

When I was younger, I was interested in tons of things. I was into Barbies, but I was also into Legos, for example. I was encouraged to really explore these interests, and I think this helped me figure out what my favorite hobbies were.

Then, I somehow started watching Sailor Moon when it was on Cartoon Network. It was a game-changer. I was totally engrossed by the idea of superheroes who were girls. Not only were they pretty, they were tough, and they helped others. Plus, I loved the story because there was so much to it. It was a story about love, friendship, and just how good beats evil always.

Eventually, pretty soon after I started watching the show, I started to get into drawing. My drawings were very much inspired by Sailor Moon, but I began to develop my own characters, plots, and even comics as I went along. Then, I began to experiment with putting those adventures to paper.

Sailor Moon didn't just get me into drawing. It got me into storytelling.

Years later, I would draw on and off, get into art school, transfer out, decide that I wanted to be a writer, graduate with an English degree, and begin brainstorming for my writing samples to send to potential graduate schools. It's crazy how my creative ventures have changed over the years, but rewatching Sailor Moon reminded me that going back to your roots can be a really, really fun and inspiring thing. :)

Is there something from your childhood - be it a show, a book, or a memory in general - that inspires you?